Hlenderia
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The Hlenderian Commonwealth of Mūnim, Kwarim, and Vrotrim | |
|---|---|
 | |
Motto: Hlenderia's people are all alike in dignity. | |
National emblem:  | |
 (1) On Hayaneste (2) Ethnic map Yellow: Vrotrim Blue: Kwarim Gray: Mūnim | |
| Capital | Pelachis |
| Largest city | Norrith |
| Official languages | Hlenderian |
| Ethnic groups (2018) | 98.6% Human 0.8% Elf 0.6% other |
| Religion (2018) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Hlenderian, Mūni, Kwari, Vrotri |
| Peoples of Hlenderia | Mūnim Kwarim Vrotrim |
| Government | Multiethnic, Constitutional elective monarchy |
• King | Yendrin Kwarrōth |
• President of the Grand Council | Marsilamat Indari |
| Legislature | Grand Council (unicameral) |
| Establishment | |
| 1687 | |
• Formation of the Grand Council | 1692 |
| 1908 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 461,300 km2 (178,100 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2018 census |  26,090,300 |
• Density | 56.3/km2 (145.8/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $494.3 billion |
• Per capita | $18,945 |
| Gini (2022) | 0.53 low |
| SDI (2018) | 0.725 high |
| Currency | Hlenderian dina (Đ/HLD) |
| Time zone | UTC -5, -6 |
| Date format | mm/dd/yyyy |
| Driving side | the right |
| ISO 3166 code | HLE |
| Internet TLD | .hl |
The Commonwealth of Hlenderia, officially the Hlenderian Commonwealth of Mūnim, Kwarim, and Vrotrim, is a country that occupies most of the island of Hayaneste, Gondwana, except for the most northwesternmost portion occupied by Joralesia. Hlenderia is a multiethnic state divided between the Mūni, Kwari, and Vrotri peoples. The majority of Hlenderia has a subarctic climate, dominated by boreal forest and wetland. The extreme southeast of the island, allocated to the Mūni people, is dominated by tundra. The western coast, mostly Vrotri ancestral land, has a milder oceanic climate. The capital, Pelachis, is located in the northwest of the country, near the border with Joralesia, along the Pela River. Hlenderia's largest city, Norrith, is located on the northern coast in ethnic Kwari land.
Archaeological evidence indicates that Hayaneste was settled at least four thousand years ago, but the first written records describing the Mūni, Kwari, and Vrotri peoples dates to the 6th century BCE. These ethnic groups would unite in the face of foreign threats, but would also often fight among themselves over farming and grazing rights, religious differences, or trade disputes. The modern state of Hlenderia was formed in the late 17th century, when tribal leaders from the three ethnic groups of the area united following settlement attempts by Auravas, Ethalria, and others. This first constitution of Hlenderia established political traditions that remain to this day, including its elective monarchy and legislature constructed and apportioned along ethnic lines.
Hlenderia is sparsely populated, and a large proportion of its people live in a few large cities along the coast. Hayaneste's interior is mostly taiga with cold, harsh winters and a short growing season. The Hlenderians that live away from the coast, mostly Mūni and Kwari, follow traditional ways of life and customary law. The Oramin Mountains, in the southwest interior of Hlenderia, are held as holy in the local folk religion and are designated a National Religious Preserve, one of the largest such preserves in the world. The Oramin preserve is off-limits to foreigners except on certain occasions scheduled by the Bureau of Culture.
The island's harsh climate, traditional way of life and secretive religion of the Mūni, Kwari, and Vrotri, as well as the historic hostility of Hlenderia to foreign colonization, have led to the country having an international reputation for isolationism and xenophobia. One political scientist observed in 2009 that "the Hlenderian government does little to dispel this notion, and indeed one could infer that it is a reputation they would like to cultivate". However, recent reform efforts by the national government and development intended to spur foreign investment has contributed to economic growth in the past decade.
Hlenderia is a middle-income country with a developing economy. The capital of Pelachis and large port city of Norrith are the largest contributors to the national economy, which remains focused on its fisheries, lumber industry, and manufacturing. In the extreme southeast of the country, the local Mūni people engage in small-scale subsistence whaling, but recent attempts to prepare whale products for foreign sale have resulted in controversy at home and abroad.
Etymology
The name "Hlenderia" is a Staynish derivation of the native term "Hlendertu", meaning "three people". The term was invented at the time of unification in the 17th century; before this, there was no single name for the land or the people inhabiting it, and the Vrotri, Kwari, and Mūni peoples merely conceived of themselves as three separate groups inhabiting the same space. When Ethalria began visiting and mapping the area, they named the island Hayaneste. This name is usually avoided by native Hlenderians, who consider it a colonialist term, but it remains the common term for the island in the Staynish language.
Other names used at various times for Hlenderia are "Chemara", meaning "Chem's Land", referring to the creator deity of the native Hlenderian religion, "Nagertū", meaning "People's Island", and "Āra-sire", meaning "Great Forest".
History
Pre-contact Hlenderia
The Vrotrim, Kwarim, and Mūnim are the three peoples indigenous to Hlenderia and are considered a distinct Gondwanan branch of humanity. Early migration to Hayaneste began 40,000 to 50,000 years ago and the island was widely inhabited by 35,000 years ago. A rock shelter named Balmassalū, located on the northwestern coast near the border with Joralesia, is recognized as the oldest evidence of human habitation on Hayaneste and has been dated to be at least 42,000 years old. The oldest surviving human remains are skull fragments found preserved in an ice cave in southeastern Hlenderia; these date back 25,000 years. The bog body named "Erva", a corpse of a Kwari woman found in peatland outside Hamrith on the eastern coast, is an important archeological artifact dated back to 8000 BCE.
Hlenderian culture resembling that which is practiced today began to emerge in the mid-Bronze Age, though it is believed that the native religion preserves more ancient oral traditions in some form. By 4,000 years ago, the Vrotrim and Kwarim had developed complex urban and agricultural societies as a result of widespread Gondwanan trade networks. The Mūnim, native to the central and southeastern portions of Hayaneste, practiced a mixture of pastoral nomadism and temporary settlements with subsistence agriculture.
Developed trade networks allowed the three Hlenderian peoples to receive foreign technological advances to some degree, though the island lagged behind the more developed nations on Aurora and elsewhere until modernity. Iron working, water mills, irrigation, and even medieval advancements made their way to Hlenderia, either through trade, intermarriage with foreign visitors, or the occasional violent conflict with interlopers.
The three groups inhabiting Hayaneste also would fight among themselves over grazing rights, religious differences, or affronts in the island's strict culture of honor. An informal code governed many of these internecine conflicts, regulating the use of revenge and feuds to solve problems. This code, known as "la-Dinu", was first written down in the 6th century BCE and remains the earliest record naming each of Hlenderia's three peoples.
Auroran exploration and colonization
The first Auroran sighting of Hayaneste is attributed to Ethalrian explorer Waltraud Vogel, who sighted land in the northwest of the island in 1499 and eventually landed in what is now Ewising, Joralesia later that year. Early encounters between the Auroran colonists and the Vrotrim and Kwarim living in northwest Hayaneste were often violent, with both groups often putting aside their ancient differences to coordinate on raids of Ethalrian settlements. These conflicts, driven by the scarcity of arable land in the cold environment of Hlenderia, led to resentment on both sides and acts of revenge undertaken by Ethalrian settlers.
Early Ethalrian settlements were eventually combined into a colony hugging the northwestern coast of Hayaneste called Tornaland. This colony, integral to the Ethalrian trading network in southern Gondwana, had fluid borders in its early years, but by the mid 17th century these were fixed aside from occasional cross-border raids by Vrotri and Kwari parties. The rising power of Ethalrian settlers, and their ability to intercept and destroy raiding parties, would be part of the impetus for the the Kwarim, Vrotrim, and Mūnim to unite under one leader in the late 17th century.
Formation of the Commonwealth
From the mid-17th century, chiefs and sages of the Kwari, Vrotri, and Mūni people, exposed to new foreign ideas of nationalism, began to articulate desires for a union or federation of the three peoples to resist further Auroran colonization and improve Hlenderian society. This movement would gain traction among the common people, especially in the north of Hayaneste where foreign interference was most obvious and most resented. A 1687 meeting involving the chiefs of each people, located in the large central city of Pelachis would eventually be dubbed the Unification of the Three Peoples, though this historiography is today seen as informed by Hlenderian nationalist myth as much as reality. At this meeting, little was agreed upon beyond a general desire by the attendees to see Hlenderians combine their military forces, secure the northwestern border, and prevent the expansion of Tornaland.
Further meetings in 1689, 1690, and 1692 would eventually lead to the promulgation of Hlenderia's first Constitution. This founding document would unite the Mūnim, Kwarim, and Vrotrim in one nation named "Hlenderia" and provided for an elective monarchy, based on the models common across the island where chiefs and clan leaders were elected for lifelong terms. Furthermore, this monarch would command the combined military forces of Hlenderia. A legislative branch called the Grand Council, containing reserved and elected seats apportioned by population, was also established. Detractors accused this new legislature of imitating foreign parliamentarianism, but it survived this early criticism and remains a coequal branch of government to this day.
Politics
Hlenderia is a semi-constitutional monarchy, which has been called anocratic or a hybrid regime. External observers have been divided on the exact nature of the regime, which gives the King substantial political influence but does place some restrictions on his power. An elected legislature, the Grand Council of Hlenderia, chooses the King, who rules for life. In reality, the Binational Agreement signed between Kwari and Vrotri parties in 1908 has ensured that the monarch has belonged to one of these two ethnic groups since then.
The elective aspect of Hlenderia's monarchy dates to the country's formation and first constitution. Traditionally, bands of each ethnic group of Hlenderia elected their chiefs, who would hold their position until death. The first Grand Council opted to continue this system when drafting the country's constitution. Powers reserved to the monarch include a veto power over bills, which the Grand Council can only override with a supermajority, the right to appoint chiefs of the Bureaus that serve as the government bureaucracy, the right to appoint judges and magistrates, and a number of other "emergency powers" that are rarely exercised in the modern era.
The current King, Yendrin Kwarrōth, was elected in 1991. Before his accession, Yendrin was an influential member of the right-wing party Traditionalist Kwarim, but since taking the throne he has moved to the center of the political spectrum and focused on modernizing efforts. His only child, Yendrina Kwarrōth, is a member of the centrist Liberal Party and sits in the Grand Council. Yendrin's wife, Mera Kwarrōth, died in 1986 and he never remarried. Most political observers believe Yendrina is the most likely successor to the throne.
Legislature
The Grand Council of Hlenderia is elected at-large every five years, or earlier if the legislature is dissolved or votes to hold an early election. The King is given the power to suspend and dissolve the Council, but must call a new election within two months. The Council elects a President from among its members, whose position is analogous to that of a Prime Minister or Chancellor in other nations. The current President is Marsilamat Indari, an ethnic Vrotri. The President works closely with the King to set public policy and enact legislature.
The Grand Council has 187 seats. Of these, 144 are reserved seats divided between the Kwari, Vrotri, and Mūni people according to proportion of population. This arrangement, present since Hlenderia's founding, can cause census years to be times of heightened ethnic tensions. The census, which occurs every eight years, last occured in 2018 and is scheduled to occur again in 2026.
The remaining 43 seats are open to all candidates, and primarily represent districts in cities along the coast and the largest interior settlements. These seats are often key swing votes in major issues, and constitute an informal "upper house" in the unicameral Council.
Elections proceed according to party-list proportional representation. Seven parties are represented in the Grand Council. Five of these parties are "ethnic" parties, officially representing the issues of their ethnic groups, and two are officially "pan-national".
| Party name |
Political position |
Seats |
|---|---|---|
| United Vrotrim | Center-left to center-right | 57 |
| Kwari People's Party |
Center-right | 35 |
| Traditionalist Kwarim | Center-right to right-wing | 19 |
| Mūni People's Front |
Right-wing | 20 |
| United Southeastern Mūni Bands | Right-wing to far-right | 11 |
| Liberal Party | Centrist to left-wing | 31 |
| Hlenderian Workers Party | Left-wing to far-left | 14 |
The current ruling coalition is comprised of the United Vrotrim, Kwari People's Party, and Traditionalist Kwarim. The United Opposition is compromised of the Liberal Party and Hlenderian Workers Party. The two Mūni parties vote together on most issues.
Geography and climate
Hlenderia comprises the majority of the island of Hayaneste in southern Gondwana, except for the neighboring country of Joralesia in the northwest. Most of Hlenderia is sparsely populated. The most populous region is the western coast, followed by the northern region around the city of Norrith, near the Joralesian border.
The western coast region has a relatively warm, oceanic climate with fertile soils watered by storm systems that are fed by sea winds. In the southwest, deciduous and mixed-leaf temperate forest predominates. In the northwest - the most populous region in Hlenderia - much of this primeval forest has been cleared to make way for agriculture. This northwestern region, called the "breadbasket of Hlenderia", feeds much of the country and produces food for export to Joralesia and mainland Gondwana.
The interior of Hlenderia is marked by conifer forests and taiga, with the rain shadow to the east of the Oramin Mountains dominated by bogs, muskeg, and fens. This taiga, known as the "Great Woods" locally, is mostly pine, fir, and spruce. Each of these species are economically important, but Hlenderia's pine forests are especially highly logged for use in inexpensive furniture. The growing season in the interior is short each year, but agriculture is performed on a subsistence basis by Kwari and Mūni bands in the northern taiga.
The southeastern part of the country - the closest land mass to Sempiterna - consists of tundra. This portion of Hlenderia, which consists entirely of Mūni territory, is the least developed. Of particular concern in modern times is the melting of permafrost here by climate change, which results in the release of trapped carbon and affects the traditional lifestyle of the Hlenderians residing here.
The Oramin Mountains are the source of over 850 rivers in Hlenderia, the longest and widest being the River Pela that runs east and passes through the nation's capital of Pelachis. Nearly 35,000 ponds and lakes, many of them unnamed in the vast interior, also provide fresh water. This range, considered holy in the local Hlenderian religion, run north to south along the western half of the island, with the smaller "Little Oramin" or "Oramin's Highway" range branching off and stretching eastward through central Hayaneste. This range also provides a natural border between the western Vrotrim people and the Kwarim and Mūnim east of it. A few passes allow travel through the mountains, and Hlenderian Highway One is the most traveled paved corridor through the region.
In central-western Hlenderia, the Oramin Mountains Religious Preserve is set aside for local religious use and forbidden to logging or development. The forest here is a fine example of old-growth taiga, and on the middle slopes drunken forest predominates, the result of permafrost now melted by climate change.
Flora and fauna
In the western part of the country, deciduous broadleaf and mixed forests consisting of maple, oak, pine, and cedar predominate. Moving eastward over the Oramin Mountains, taiga consisting primarily of pine, spruce, and fir makes up the interior and eastern coast. In the far southeast, tundra with a short growing season provides a home to highly specialized plants and animals.
Along the coast, bird life such as gulls and albatrosses, cormorants, herons, and penguins are commonly seen. In the interior, birds of prey such as owls, falcons, and eagles have long been seen as sacred by the Kwarim and Mūnim. The fen-grouse, a large ground bird and Hlenderia's national animal, lives in the fens, bogs, and forests of the interior and is a common sight. In its breeding season, male fen-grouse can be highly aggressive. Passerines are also common throughout the island. In the southeastern tundra, penguins and terns comprise the majority of avian life.
The large land wildlife includes deer, moose, muskox in the southeast, caribou and bears. The large Hayaneste brown bear is sacred in the Hlenderian religion. The medium-sized land wildlife includes foxes, wolves, jackals, etc. The small animals seen most commonly include squirrels, hare, groundhogs, raccoons, chipmunks, and beavers.